Not sure what recycling bottles and cans have anything to do with this race to extract ultra-rare Helium-3 isotopes from the moon, unless you neglected to inform the science community that you have invented your own innovative version of a powerful, safe, and 100% clean fusion reactor that runs on recycled aluminum & plastic instead of Helium-3.

China and Europe's 'Moon village' could boost lunar mining, space tourismWe may dream of colonizing Mars, but in the meantime, a moonbase is on the table.
By Charlie Osborne | April 27, 2017

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Chinese and European space agencies have come together to consider the possibility of a new joint base on the Moon.

Representatives from both groups, China's space agency and the European Space Agency (ESA) have begun discussing collaborative projects including the moonbase alongside other joint schemes, and as China continues to grow in the space exploration arena, a human outpost could benefit both parties.

As reported by The Independent, the so-called "Moon village" could act not only as a launching pad for other missions -- such as trips to Mars -- but also could become a base for lunar mining or space tourism.

The discussions were first revealed by Tian Yulong, the secretary general of China's space group, and later confirmed by European representative Pal Hvistendahl.

"The Chinese have a very ambitious moon program already in place," Hvistendahl told the publication. "Space has changed since the space race of the Sixties."

"We recognize that to explore space for peaceful purposes, we do international cooperation," the spokesperson added.

China was late to the space exploration game but has caught up rapidly, becoming the third country to send a human into space in 2003 and launching everything from cargo ships to satellite since. The country is also joining NASA, Europe, India, the US, and the United Arab Emirates in the hopes of sending research vehicles in July 2020 to Mars, taking advantage of a small time window in which such a launch is possible.

At a Senate hearing on Wednesday, companies involved in the space industry pressed for a shake-up of existing, aging laws on research and collaboration, including tweaking the UN Space Treaty to prevent "ownership" of space assets such as the Moon by nations, as reported by Quartz.

China plans to land two lunar probes in the next year. In the meantime, the US Trump Administration has talked up plans to visit both the Moon and Mars but declined to join discussions with China and the ESA.

I'm pretty sure that's against space law. Speaking of which, we should be wondering why we don't see aliens everywhere or even anywhere. That's huge. If they're out there, you can deduce via game theory one of them would have made contact so what gives.

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They came and they left. No signs of intelligent life to contact unfortuneately. Sounds like a joke but many have seriously theorized that to be the case.

China and Europe's 'Moon village' could boost lunar mining, space tourismWe may dream of colonizing Mars, but in the meantime, a moonbase is on the table.
By Charlie Osborne | April 27, 2017

​

Chinese and European space agencies have come together to consider the possibility of a new joint base on the Moon.

Representatives from both groups, China's space agency and the European Space Agency (ESA) have begun discussing collaborative projects including the moonbase alongside other joint schemes, and as China continues to grow in the space exploration arena, a human outpost could benefit both parties.

As reported by The Independent, the so-called "Moon village" could act not only as a launching pad for other missions -- such as trips to Mars -- but also could become a base for lunar mining or space tourism.

The discussions were first revealed by Tian Yulong, the secretary general of China's space group, and later confirmed by European representative Pal Hvistendahl.

"The Chinese have a very ambitious moon program already in place," Hvistendahl told the publication. "Space has changed since the space race of the Sixties."

"We recognize that to explore space for peaceful purposes, we do international cooperation," the spokesperson added.

China was late to the space exploration game but has caught up rapidly, becoming the third country to send a human into space in 2003 and launching everything from cargo ships to satellite since. The country is also joining NASA, Europe, India, the US, and the United Arab Emirates in the hopes of sending research vehicles in July 2020 to Mars, taking advantage of a small time window in which such a launch is possible.

At a Senate hearing on Wednesday, companies involved in the space industry pressed for a shake-up of existing, aging laws on research and collaboration, including tweaking the UN Space Treaty to prevent "ownership" of space assets such as the Moon by nations, as reported by Quartz.

China plans to land two lunar probes in the next year. In the meantime, the US Trump Administration has talked up plans to visit both the Moon and Mars but declined to join discussions with China and the ESA.

I'm pretty sure the Outer Space Treaty is gonna make mining the moon a particularly difficult endeavor. Going to it and exploring is one thing, setting up shop and mining it out is another thing entirely.

Any discussion of mining the Moon is moot at this point because we don't have a vehicle system capable of carrying out a mining operation APART from the insane expense of travel costs.
Nobody else does either and I'm not aware of any serious plans to establish operations.

10% of the3He just on the topsoil of the moon would supply the current energy consumption of the the earth for a 1000 years, over 4 times as efficient as nuclear and its clean energy with no toxic waste.

10% of the3He just on the topsoil of the moon would supply the current energy consumption of the the earth for a 1000 years, over 4 times as efficient as nuclear and its clean energy with no toxic waste.

NASA recently put out a request for private sector partners, but not for sending people to Mars. The government agency wants proposals for cargo transportation to the lunar surface. As with most major government proposals, no one knows the specifics of the project. However, there’s talk swirling around heading back to the moon for mining purposes. In the request for information (RFI), NASA said:

“NASA has identified a variety of exploration, science, and technology demonstration objectives that could be addressed by sending instruments, experiments, or other payloads to the lunar surface. To address these objectives as cost-effectively as possible, NASA may procure payloads and related commercial payload delivery services to the Moon.”

Lunar mining largely comes as part of a request from the Donald Trump administration. In a 94-page document obtained by Motherboard in April, Trump’s review team asked NASA to “provide data and examples of how NASA does technology development (perhaps even in the form of products)* when working with industry — for example, types of contracts/partnerships and IP arrangements.”

Trump’s administration also asked about what resources could be harvested from the moon itself. NASA mentioned that the moon’s south pole holds a lot of promise in terms of water, hydrogen, and methane. Other major government agencies (namely the Environmental Protection Agency) will suffer massive budget cuts under Trump’s proposed budget. However, NASA will only experience a one percent cut should the budget pass as proposed.

While NASA never forgot the Earth’s moon, mining the area has been largely off limits due to international agreements. The Outer Space Treaty — supported by the United States, the United Kingdom, and 103 other nations — is the key hindrance. It says:

“The exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development, and shall be the province of all mankind.”

Essentially, if this endeavor is promoted by the Trump administration, then the U.S. has a legal and contractual obligation to share those resources with the rest of the world. At the very least, other signing nations would have a say in the mining practices.

They came and they left. No signs of intelligent life to contact unfortuneately. Sounds like a joke but many have seriously theorized that to be the case.

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I think Global Warming is the "Great Filter." If they have technology, unless there is some other power source other than burning shit, then they will go through what we are going through. All intelligent races end up turning their home worlds into wet greenhouses and destroying them.